To Retrain or to Hire? That Is the Tech Talent Question

A good read, sent to me by a colleague this morning. The CIOs I know are having this conversation all the time, but it may be slightly more nuanced in higher education. While we know our institutions are facing a wave of digital disruption, we also know that we are running quite a bit of legacy environments that have to be maintained. We face the intense need to help shape our workforce for the future, while managing the technical debt of the present. This is why we’ve set a strategic priority focused on people.

If India can reskill 400 million people, America should be able to leverage invention and innovation to reskill the 162 million currently employed, and six million unemployed persons. Starting with their own tech staffs, chief information officers are well positioned to take the C-suite lead in this national imperative. As Mike Gregoire, CEO, CA Technologies, warns, “there is no time to waste.”

Between this article and the mention of AT&T’s “Future Ready” initiative, it makes me seriously consider how we leverage the incredible experiential learning models we have right here on campus to create a new set of learning opportunities for our team. One of my earliest conversations here was related to the creation of a masters level program designed specifically for ITS focused on addressing the technical skills we will need to have as an organization to realize Northeastern 2025. I think we need to continue that conversation.

1 Comment

Lindsey Sudbury
on September 28, 2018 at 3:09 pm

Yes! Sign me up. Having a shared body of knowledge with room to develop role-specific skills and competencies would be a super effective way to keep ITS moving together in the direction of the future!

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Hi

My name is Cole W. Camplese and I serve as the Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer. This is my space on the Northeastern web to share thoughts, updates, and insights.